336 LARID/E. 



the Kermadec Group, and Dr. Coppinger procured specimens on San Ambrosio Island, during 

 the X'oyage of H. M.S. " Alert." 



1 first met with this species when nearing Lord Howe Island, on the 4th October, 1910, 

 when on the wing, its generally light plumage being sufficiently attractive to arrest the attention 

 of even the most casual observer. Later on I observed it hovering above the inaccessible cliffs at 

 North Ridge, on the north-eastern part of the island, and occasionally it was seen fishing in the 

 waters of the lagoon. This bird is l<nown locally to the Lord Howe Islanders as the " I-Slue- 

 billy." A very fine series of skins was obtained, on behalf of the Trustees of the Australian 

 Museum, by Messrs. I^theridge and party, during their visit in August and September, 1887. 



On Great .\dmiralty Rock I found several nesting-places of this species on the 15th October, 

 iqio. In every instance they were in small crannies of the weathered surface of the rock, 

 immediately under the grass-covered top of the island, and from twenty to thirty feel above the 

 sea. There was not the slightest attempt at forming a nest, the single egg being deposited on 

 the decomposed rock of the floor of the small chamber, just sufficiently large to accommodate 

 the sitting bird. Althou};h all the eggs I found were incubated, the birds left their nesting- 

 places when I approached near them, and did not allow me to handle them as did many of the 

 Sooty Terns only a few yards away on top of the rocks. It was by far the rarest species of Tern, 

 both on Lord Howe Island and on Great Admiralty Rock, nesting in isolated pairs here and 

 there, and always in the same position, in crevices or ledges of rock. On Phillip and Nepean 

 Islands, near Norfolk Island, the late Dr. P. H. Metcalfe found the eggs of the Grey Noddy on 

 ledges of high rocks, and sometimes on the bare sand. 



From Norfolk- Island Dr. P. H.Metcalfe wrote as follows: — "The Grey Noddy (Auous 

 cinenus) is not so common as the other Noddies. Doubtless it breeds on Norfolk Island, although 

 I have not personally seen it do so. I ha\e found its eggs often on Phillip Island and Nepean 

 Island. They are usually, but not always, placed in \ery inaccessible places and on ledges of 

 high rocks, though occasionally on the sand sometimes only a few feet above the sea, but usually 

 from eighty up to two thousand feet. The eggs, almost oval, vary little in size and marking, 

 but the shells are more brittle and easily broken than those of any other species of sea bird 

 breeding here. They are generally laid in September, October and Novemlier, and e\en later, 

 one only for a sitting. These birds do not attempt to make a nest. The Norfolk' Islander's 

 name for this species is ' Petro,' evidently a corruption of Petrel." 



Only one egg is laid for a sitting. They vary in shape from a nearly true ellipse to oval 

 and elongate-oval, the shell being close-grained, dull and lustrous. In ground colour they range 

 from a creamy-white to a creamy-buff, which is fairly evenly but sparingly freckled and spotted 

 with faint reddish-brown or umber-brown, with which are intermingled similar underlying 

 markings of dull bluish or inky-grey, in some specimens the latter markings are more numerous 

 than those on the outer surface. Others have short, thick, wavy markings, resembling ill-shapen 

 letters and figures, evenly distributed over the shell, which, although not thickly disposed, yet 

 are in some places confluent, forming small clouded patches. .As a rule the markings on the 

 eggs of the Grey Noddy are smaller and more indistinct than is usually found on the eggs of the 

 Australian members of the Sub-family Stermn.^. Two eggs in the Australian Museum Collection, 

 taken by Dr. P. H. Metcalfe on Nepean Island, near Norfolk Island, on the 24th November, 

 1893, measure as follows: — Length (A) 1-67 x 1-13 inches; (B) i-8 x 1-14 inches; the latter 

 is an unusually elongated specimen. An egg taken by Dr. Metcalfe on Phillip Island, near 

 Norfolk Island, on the 24th November, 1884, measures: — Length 1-65 x i-ig inches. Another 

 taken by him in the same locality, four days later, measures : — Length i-68 x 1-2 inches; the 

 two latter eggs are represented on Plate B. XXIV., figures 15 and IG. Two eggs taken by me 

 on Great Admiralty Rock, near Lord Howe Island, on the 15th October, igio, measure: — 

 Length (A) 1-7 x i-iSinches; (B) i-68 x 1-15 inches. 



